Tuckswood’s governors have now decided to also become an academy with Right to Success, although headteacher Di McNaught said the decision was not related to the controversy over Cavell’s future, or Tuckswood’s imminent negative Ofsted report.

She said the school remained committed to the co-operative trust.

Co-operative trust chairman Rob Anthony said: “We believe in schools cooperating with other schools. An academy trust is another way of co-operating with other schools and if a governing body wants to go down that route as well then we would be very supportive of that.

“The only thing we disagree with is where schools are being forced into partnerships that they don’t want and that are not a good fit for their school.”